South African regional carrier SA Express is suspending operations until further notice, in response to various pressures on the airline. While it mentions the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, SA Express indicates this is only one consideration behind its decision, attributing the suspension to “adverse recent developments”. The airline had been under substantial financial pressure and was driven into a business rescue process earlier this year. SA Express has also been grounded twice in the past four years by the country’s civil aviation regulator following safety concerns turned up by audits. The airline says it is suspending operations from 18 March, but has not indicated when services might be restored. All customers will be accommodated on alternative flights, it adds, while all non-critical personnel will be placed on compulsory leave. SA Express, which uses a fleet of Bombardier CRJs and Q400s, says it will use the suspension period to review its network and “streamline operations for improved efficiency”.

Source: Cirium

Trans States Airlines, which announced last month that it would be shuttering at the end of the year due to consolidation and a pilot shortage, has told its employees that it will go out of business nine months earlier, on 1 April. It could be the first US airline to fall victim to the coronavirus that has decimated the industry. “It’s difficult to articulate or even comprehend the speed at which the coronavirus has changed our industry and our world,” president of Trans States Holdings Rick Leach writes in a memo to employees on 17 March. “We received word late last night that the immediate cuts to our schedule are far deeper than we feared.” “We knew that the wind-down would be accelerated, but were confident that we could continue to fly for United for some months. Yet now, less than one month after our original announcement, we now have less than two weeks of flying remaining. It hardly seems possible,” he adds. Trans States did not respond to requests for comment on the internal memo. In late February, Trans States Airlines, which operates 46 Embraer ERJ-145 jets for United Airlines from Denver, Chicago and St. Louis, said it would be winding down operations at the end of 2020. According to Cirium fleets data, the airline provides feeder services to more than 80 cities in North America with about 240 daily flights. The Trans States memo to employees in February said United expressed a desire to “simplify the Embraer 145 programme by consolidating flying”. In addition, the company cited a pilot shortage as another reason it will cease operations. On Monday, industry group Airlines for America (A4A) asked the government for $58 billion in aid to assist airlines as they manage through the coronavirus crisis that has led to sharp declines in demand and subsequent cuts in service. All major US airlines, including United, said last week that they expect significantly lower revenue for the rest of the year.

Source: Cirium

The air traffic control tower at Chicago Midway International airport has temporarily closed after three members of the staff tested positive for the coronavirus. The tower closed in the late afternoon local time on 17 March, and will go through a deep cleaning before it is reopened. According to a Notice to Airmen published by the FAA, the tower will not re-open until 08:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on 20 March. FAA says in a preliminary statement that “operations will continue at a reduced rate until the situation is resolved”. It was not immediately clear if the affected members of staff were air traffic controllers, technicians or other employees. Pilots familiar with the area say operations and control of the field were temporarily shifted to the Chicago TRACON, the regional air traffic control hub, during the time the airport would remain closed. TRACON is the control facility that guides a plane through airspace after it leaves the main tower’s responsibility. “The air traffic system is a resilient system with multiple backups in place,” the regulatory body says. “This shift is a regular execution of a long-standing contingency plan to ensure continued operations. Each facility across the country has a similar plan that has been updated and tested in recent years.” The FAA adds that the safety of staff and the traveling public is the organisation’s top priority and that controllers and technicians are integral to the functioning of the national airspace system. Cirium schedules data show that Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines operate flights to and from Chicago’s Midway airport, the second airport in the northern US city after Chicago O’Hare International. The airlines fly to 76 destinations in six countries from the field near the city’s centre. The airport is also used for charter operations and general aviation.

Source: Cirium